Session of 2000
         
HOUSE BILL No. 2850
         
By Committee on Local Government
         
2-3
         

  9             AN  ACT concerning purchases by and contracts entered into by the di-
10             rector of purchases; amending K.S.A. 75-3740 and repealing the ex-
11             isting section.
12      
13       Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
14             Section  1. K.S.A. 75-3740 is hereby amended to read as follows: 75-
15       3740. (a) Except as provided by this section and K.S.A. 75-3740b, and
16       amendments thereto, all contracts and purchases made by or under the
17       supervision of the director of purchases or any state agency for which
18       competitive bids are required shall be awarded to the lowest responsible
19       bidder, taking into consideration conformity with the specifications, terms
20       of delivery, and other conditions imposed in the call for bids.
21             (b) The director of purchases shall have power to decide as to the
22       lowest responsible bidder for all purchases, but if:
23             (1) The dollar amount of the bid received from the lowest responsible
24       bidder from within the state is identical to the dollar amount of the bid
25       received from the lowest responsible bidder from without the state, the
26       contract shall be awarded to the bidder from within the state;
27             (2) in the case of bids for paper products specified in K.S.A. 75-
28       3740b, and amendments thereto, the dollar amounts of the bids received
29       from two or more lowest responsible bidders are identical, the contract
30       shall be awarded to the bidder whose bid is for those paper products
31       containing the highest percentage of recyclable materials; and
32             (3) in the case of bids for paper products specified in K.S.A. 75-
33       3740b, and amendments thereto, the dollar amounts of the bids received
34       from two or more lowest responsible bidders are identical, the contract
35       shall be awarded to the bidder whose bid is for those paper products
36       containing the highest percentage of recycled materials.
37             (c) Any or all bids may be rejected, and a bid shall be rejected if it
38       contains any material alteration or erasure.
39             (d) The director of purchases may reject the bid of any bidder who
40       is in arrears on taxes due the state, who is not properly registered to collect
41       and remit taxes due the state or who has failed to perform satisfactorily
42       on a previous contract with the state. The secretary of revenue is hereby
43       authorized to exchange such information with the director of purchases


2

  1       as is necessary to effectuate the preceding sentence provisions of this
  2       subsection notwithstanding any other provision of law prohibiting disclo-
  3       sure of the contents of taxpayer records or information.
  4             (e) Prior to determining the lowest responsible bidder on contracts
  5       for construction of buildings or for major repairs or improvements to
  6       buildings for state agencies, the director of purchases shall consider:
  7             (1) The criteria and information developed by the secretary of ad-
  8       ministration, with the advice of the state building advisory commission to
  9       rate contractors on the basis of their performance under similar contracts
10       with the state, local governmental entities and private entities, in addition
11       to other criteria and information available, and (2);
12             (2) the information that is required to be provided by the bidder un-
13       der subsections (h) through (n); and
14             (3) the recommendations of the project architect, or, if there is no
15       project architect, the recommendations of the secretary of administration
16       or the agency architect for the project as provided in K.S.A. 75-1254, and
17       amendments thereto.
18             (f) In any case where competitive bids are required and where all
19       bids are rejected, new bids shall be called for as in the first instance,
20       unless otherwise expressly provided by law.
21             (g) Contracts for construction of buildings or for major repairs or
22       improvements to buildings for state agencies shall be awarded to the low-
23       est responsible bidder that provides, best value, taking into consideration
24       conformity with the specifications, terms of delivery, other conditions im-
25       posed in the call for bids and the financial responsibility, accountability,
26       past performance, operational responsibleness, reliability, skill, capacity,
27       ability, judgment and integrity of the bidder.
28             (h) All bidders and subcontractors of bidders for contracts for con-
29       struction of buildings or for major repairs or improvements to buildings
30       for state agencies shall submit the following information with the bid for
31       a project, or if stated on an annual basis, in addition to any other infor-
32       mation the bidder may be required to provide prior to the award of a
33       contract, failure to provide any requested information shall cause the bid
34       to be considered incomplete and disqualified.
35             (1) A description of the bidder's experience with projects of compar-
36       ative size, complexity and cost within recent years, including documen-
37       tation that demonstrates the bidder's ability to perform a substantial por-
38       tion of the project with the bidder's own forces;
39             (2) annual documentation of all projects in the previous three years
40       under written contract exceeding $50,000 with a government entity, on
41       which the bidder performed work, disclosing:
42             (A) Timeliness of the bidder's performance;
43             (B) quality of the bidder's work;


3

  1             (C) any fines and penalties imposed and paid by the bidder with
  2       respect to such projects, including an explanation of each such fine or
  3       penalty;
  4             (D) a history of the bidder of claims for extra work requiring payment
  5       above the original contract amount, including an explanation of each such
  6       instance of a claim for extra work by the bidder with respect to such
  7       projects; and
  8             (E) contract defaults by the bidder with respect to such projects, in-
  9       cluding an explanation of each such default;
10             (3) annual documentation identifying and describing any projects
11       within the previous three years for which the bidder was determined by
12       a government entity not to be a responsible bidder. The reason given by
13       such government entity for such determination and an explanation of such
14       determination;
15             (4) annual documentation setting forth an adequate demonstration of
16       financial responsibility, which shall include a certified financial statement
17       prepared by a certified public accountant, to assure the bidder possesses
18       adequate financial resources, availability of credit and the means and
19       ability to procure insurance and bonds for the project;
20             (5) annual documentation disclosing any suspensions or revocations
21       of any professional license of any director, officer, owner or managerial
22       employee of the bidder, to the extent that any work to be performed by
23       the bidder for the project is within the field of such licensed profession;
24             (6) annual documentation disclosing all violations of the federal oc-
25       cupational safety and health act (OSHA) within the previous three years,
26       all notices of OSHA citations filed against the bidder in the same three-
27       year period and a description and explanation of remediation or other
28       steps taken regarding each such violation or notice of violation;
29             (7) annual documentation disclosing all violations within the previous
30       five years pertaining to unlawful intimidation or discrimination against
31       any employee by reason of race, creed, color, disability, sex or natural
32       origin or to violations of an employee's civil rights or equal employment
33       opportunities;
34             (8) annual documentation disclosing any litigation related to any pro-
35       ject in which the bidder has been engaged within the previous five years.
36       Such documentation shall include copies of pleadings, in which the bidder
37       has been named as a defendant or third-party defendant in any action
38       involving a claim for personal injury or wrongful death arising from per-
39       formance of work for any such project;
40             (9) annual documentation disclosing all violations within the previous
41       five years of any labor law or any other provision of federal or state law
42       regulating or relating to labor or employment, including, but not limited
43       to, child labor violations, failure to pay wages, unemployment insurance


4

  1       tax delinquencies or unfair labor practices;
  2             (10) annual documentation disclosing all violations of the workers
  3       compensation act of Kansas or the workers compensation law of any other
  4       state or federal jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, the failure to
  5       provide proof of workers compensation insurance or other proof of ability
  6       to meet the obligation to provide workers compensation that is imposed
  7       by any such law, and any lapses thereof;
  8             (11) annual documentation disclosing all criminal convictions or
  9       criminal indictments within the previous five years that are related to
10       company operations, involving the bidder or the bidder's officers, direc-
11       tors, owners or managerial employees;
12             (12) annual documentation disclosing all violations or pending
13       charges within the past five years concerning violations of federal, state
14       or municipal environmental or health laws, codes or rules and regulations;
15             (13) annual documentation disclosing all violations or pending
16       charges within the past five years related to violations of federal immi-
17       gration and naturalization laws;
18             (14) identify the sources from which the bidder intends to provide
19       the necessary workers to complete the project in a satisfactory manner;
20             (15) documentation identifying all work for the project that the bidder
21       intends to subcontract to other firms and identify each firm to which the
22       work will be subcontracted. All work not identified as being subcon-
23       tracted, shall be performed by the bidder; and
24             (16) documentation providing the same information for each subcon-
25       tractor submitted with the bid, as is prescribed for the bidder under sub-
26       sections (h) (1) through (h) (14), which shall be obtained by the bidder
27       from each such subcontractor.
28             (i) All subcontractors that are submitted by a bidder are subject to
29       the approval of the director of purchases. The approval of the subcon-
30       tractors, as provided in the general conditions, shall be subject to the same
31       conditions and criteria for evaluation of responsibility as the bidder.
32             (j) Prior to a final determination that the apparent lowest bidder will
33       not be awarded a contract for construction of buildings or for major re-
34       pairs or improvements to buildings for state agencies, the director of pur-
35       chases shall provide written notice to such bidder that such bidder may
36       not be awarded such contract. The written notice shall set forth the rea-
37       sons for not awarding the contract to such bidder and shall set forth a
38       time, date and place for such bidder to appear and be heard, prior to a
39       final determination being made to not award the contract to such bidder.
40             (k) All bids with the names of the bidders and the amounts thereof,
41       together with all documents pertaining to the proposed award of a con-
42       tract for construction of buildings or for major repairs or improvements
43       to buildings for state agencies, shall be made a part of a file or record by


5

  1       the director of purchases and such file or record shall be open to public
  2       inspection at all reasonable times for a ten-day period prior to award of
  3       the contract, in addition to any requirements under the open records act
  4       applicable thereto.
  5             (l) The director of purchases shall require all bidders and each sub-
  6       contractor under the bidder as a condition for bidding on contracts for
  7       construction of buildings or for major repairs or improvements to build-
  8       ings for state agencies for which competitive bids are required, to agree
  9       in writing that such bidder or subcontractor shall comply with the follow-
10       ing obligations:
11             (1) The bidder and each subcontractor under the bidder shall ensure
12       that all employees on the job site have appropriate training, including
13       safety training and that all such employees have all applicable state,
14       county, city and other local governmental licenses for licensed trades or
15       professions;
16             (2) the bidder and each subcontractor under the bidder shall maintain
17       or participate in an apprentice training program for each apprenticeable
18       trade or occupation represented in the workforce of the bidder or sub-
19       contractor. As used in this subsection, "apprentice training program"
20       means an apprenticeship program that is registered through the Kansas
21       apprenticeship council and recognized by the bureau of apprenticeship
22       training of the United States department of labor and under which pro-
23       gram when an apprentice is employed on a project, the apprentice must
24       be registered with the Kansas apprenticeship council to be considered an
25       apprentice;
26             (3) the bidder and each subcontractor under the bidder shall properly
27       classify employees and treat them as provided by law for purposes of
28       workers compensation coverage, unemployment taxes, social security
29       taxes and income tax withholding; no contract employees will be allowed;
30       and
31             (4) the bidder shall: (A) Provide, upon application for payment under
32       any such contract, a certified employment sheet for all employees, includ-
33       ing employees of all subcontractors, for each day on which work is per-
34       formed on the site, upon a form acceptable to the secretary of adminis-
35       tration containing job classification, hours of employment, wage rate and
36       supplements, employer identification information and all other such in-
37       formation the secretary of administration deems appropriate; and (B)
38       maintain a current record of the information prescribed for the certified
39       employment sheet at a location designated by the project architect, or, if
40       there is no project architect, by the secretary of administration or the
41       agency architect for the project.
42             (m) Any bidder or subcontractor of the bidder who fails to comply
43       with any one of the obligations specified in subsection (1) for any period


6

  1       of time during the term of a contract, at the discretion of the secretary of
  2       administration, shall be subject to one or more of the following penalties
  3       and sanctions, in addition to any other penalties prescribed by law:
  4             (1) Cessation of work on the project until compliance is obtained with
  5       no extension of project time requirements;
  6             (2) withholding of payment due under any contract or subcontract
  7       until compliance is obtained;
  8             (3) permanent removal from any further work on the project; and
  9             (4) penalty payable to the state in the amount of 5% of the dollar
10       value of the contract.
11             (n) In addition to the penalties and sanctions specified in subsection
12       (m), a general or other contractor shall be liable equally for the violation
13       of a subcontractor of such contractor. Any contractor or subcontractor
14       who has been determined to have violated any of the obligations specified
15       in subsection (1) shall be barred from performing any work on any future
16       projects for construction of buildings or for major repairs or improve-
17       ments to buildings for state agencies for a period thereafter of six months
18       for a first violation and for a period thereafter of three years for a second
19       violation. Any such contractor or subcontractor who has been determined
20       to have committed a third such violation shall be barred permanently
21       from performing any work on any such future projects.
22             (o) The provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection (l) shall not apply
23       to rebids of projects for which the state received fewer than two bids in
24       response to the original request for bids.
25             (d) (p) Before the awarding of any contract for construction of a
26       building or the making of repairs or improvements upon any building for
27       a state agency, the director of purchases shall receive written approval
28       from the state agency for which the building construction project has been
29       approved, that the bids generally conform with the plans and specifica-
30       tions prepared by the project architect, by the secretary of administration
31       or by the agency architect for the project, as the case may be, so as to
32       avoid error and mistake on the part of the contractors. In all cases where
33       material described in a contract can be obtained from any state institution,
34       the director of purchases shall exclude the same from the contract.
35             (e) (q) All bids with the names of the bidders and the amounts
36       thereof, together with all documents pertaining to the award of a contract,
37       shall be made a part of a file or record and retained by the director of
38       purchases for five years, unless reproduced as provided in K.S.A. 75-3737,
39       and amendments thereto, and shall be open to public inspection at all
40       reasonable times.
41             (f) (r) As used in this section and in K.S.A. 75-3741, and amendments
42       thereto, "project architect" shall have the meaning ascribed thereto in
43       K.S.A. 75-1251, and amendments thereto. 


7

  1       Sec.  2. K.S.A. 75-3740 is hereby repealed.
  2        Sec.  3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
  3       publication in the statute book.